Musical Truth.

People will do crazy things for their art, just ask Brisbane singer-songwriter Mark Sholtez. For this ARIA-nominated artist, diving into the murky depths of Sydney Harbour for a photo shoot is simply just another day at the office.

"I just put the suit and tie on and jumped into Sydney Harbour at 5 am," says Sholtez, in utter seriousness. "The Water Police came past at one point and had a bit of a sideways look, but it was all good."

The permeating image of Sholtez, fully suited and neck deep in waters of the harbour emblazons the cover of his sophomore record, The Distance Between Two Truths. "As a cover I think it works great,"

"The recurring themes in the songs such as escape, balance and perspective are all there. There is a lyric in the song ‘Too Late For Heroes’, ‘the trouble’s up to my neck and I’m all ready on my toes’, I thought that was just a great image lyrically."

The metaphorical nature of the art relates to the ongoing journey of Sholtez’s work as he transitions from two very disparate corners of the musical spectrum. While his 2006 debut Real Street was a pop-jazz effort in the crooning vain of Michael Buble and Jamie Cullum, The Distance Between Two Truths, is a gallant acoustic tale harking at the melodies and song writing of Paul Simon. Despite the considerable difference in direction, the reasoning behind the change was purely pragmatic.

"Ultimately, before I made that first record I was playing a lot of jazz gigs and the majority of that record came from a real piano base," says Sholtez. "Touring off the back of that I just didn’t have access to a piano so I started to unravel the acoustic guitar. I wrote all of this record in that format, so it just made sense that at the heart of this record would be a much more acoustic vibe. "

For a man willing to dive into a harbour in a suit to pursue an artistic notion, the challenge of learning a brand new instrument to base his ‘difficult second record’ on was a no brainer.

"I knew a few monkey chords on the guitar, and that was about it," explains Sholtez. "The first thing I had to do was learn to play my entire first record acoustically, I guess, from there I just found it a much nicer, more intimate way to present on stage. It just seemed to suit me as a writer as well and I stuck with it and it really has been the key element of this record."

The Distance Between Two Truths is a sobering experience that immerses itself in lush orchestral arrangements and clean-toned electric lead guitar. These decorative elements are balanced subtly over Sholtez’s shuffling acoustic rhythm and windy vocal tones.  The album was recorded in L.A.’s Sunset Studios, a hallowed ground that gave birth to classics from The Doors, Led Zeppelin, John Lennon and The Rolling Stones (just to name a few).

"You can’t forecast that kind of coolness, but when you’re in there, making records you’re not thinking ‘oh man Zeppelin recorded here’," says Sholtez. "That being said, on occasion I’d be in between takes and catching myself thinking, ‘I wonder if Jagger sang into this microphone?’, I mean ‘Stairway to Heaven’ was recorded in the very studio I was standing in."

If all that wasn’t enough to intimidate an artist, who only a few short years ago was entertaining guests at local weddings, Sholtez worked under the guiding wing of Larry Klein. Klein, a producer recognised for his work with Joni Mitchell immediately hit it off with the 32-year-old, who cracked the big time four years ago at a relatively seasoned age

"I guess this time around I felt a lot less overwhelmed and a lot more in control," says Sholtez. "One of the things that I felt with Larry straight away is that we both agreed on what was good, and once you come to that realisation it is really easy to trust people."

‘Trust’, has played a major part in the formation of the record, with Sholtez choosing to work with a number of co-writers to really articulate his inner thoughts.

"When you write on your own it’s a very personal process but when you co-write you have to externalise everything," explains Sholtez "You have to put everything on the table, good or bad and the co-writer has to do that as well. The great thing is you always end up with something you wouldn’t have written on your own."

Sholtez who is now comfortably settled, believes that although love is the overarching principle emotion in many of his songs, it is what lays beneath that really matters.

"I think at the heart of the songs there needs to be some truth," he says. "You can use artistic license in the way that you tell the story but I think you have to have felt that core emotional element. The relationship is not necessarily boy and girl situations. Sometimes that will serve as a metaphor for something else that is going on in my life like a bigger thing, but I will place it in that scenario to tell the story"

As Sholtez veers further down this road of artistic pursuit who knows what he has in store for us next. At the end of the day he enjoys following the trepidations of the path of self-betterment and plans to action this further into his career.

"As a songwriter I am just forever in pursuit of a better way to articulate my story," explains Sholtez. "As you get further on in your career and you get better at writing your songs you become more and more connected to them, because you get better at telling your story. You just feel better connected because you have better tools to realise what you are trying to say."

The Distance Between Two Truths is out now on Warner Music.

Mark Sholtez performs at The Judith Wright Centre 17 September 2010.

ENDS